Neighbors near the business operated by Abdo Ibssa said he was a nice man who experienced mental health problems.

"Because you never knew what attitude he had," said Jack Chesney. He lives near Al's Market on University Avenue near downtown Knoxville. That business was operated by Ibssa.

"Some days he'd be cool. Some days, he'd be mean and take it out on whoever," Chesney said.

Police say Ibssa shot three people, then himself April 19 at Parkwest Hospital. One victim and Ibssa died. He left a note, according to police, that a microchip had been placed in him during surgery. Neighbors knew about the man's fear.

"We've heard him say crazy things and do crazy things," said neighbor George Johnson. "The chip they're talking about--I don't know where that came from, but he kept on thinking that the government put a chip in him."

Despite the problems Ibssa had, those same people who spoke of his problems also said they'll miss him. Some wrote on the sidewalk near Al's, "God bless this place."

"It's unfortunate that it happened, you know. I hope he's resting in peace, and I feel for the families that he did the tragedy to," said Johnson.

Al's Market has since been shut down. There is no word on when or if it will reopen.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Abdo Ibssa believed a doctor had implanted a tracking chip in his body and was beset with legal and financial woes when police say he killed a woman, wounded two others and then killed himself Monday at Parkwest Medical Center.

Ibssa, who would have turned 39 Tuesday, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ethiopia, used a stolen .357-caliber magnum pistol to shoot the women and then himself about 4:34 p.m. Monday, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV said Tuesday.

Ibssa was suffering psychological problems and had been committed by his family to a mental health facility in February, Owen said. Police have yet to determine what facility treated him or when he was released.

According to court records, he also faced legal and financial problems. A Knoxville man filed a $300,000 lawsuit against him in January over an altercation that left the man injured. Records also show Ibssa was embroiled in a child support dispute with his ex-wife.

Police have determined there was no connection between Ibssa, who operated Al's Market and Deli at the corner of University and 5th avenues, and his victims.

"They were clearly just in the wrong place at the wrong time," Owen said.
Rachel Wattenbarger, 40, was killed in the afternoon assault, according to police. The other two victims are identified as Ariane Guerin, 26, and Nancy Chancellor, 32, and are in stable condition at the University of Tennessee Medical Center.

Through a spokesman with UT Medical Center, the families of the surviving victims released statements Monday night, both expressing thanks for the public's prayers and support, and indicating that the women's prognoses were promising.

Owen said Ibssa apparently went to Parkwest on Monday looking for a surgeon who had performed an appendectomy on him in 2001. Owen said a half-page, handwritten note police found in his apartment after the shooting led police to determine that Ibssa believed the surgeon had implanted a computer chip in his body during the procedure. Inside Ibssa's maroon 1996 Nissan Maxima investigators found a book entitled "The Official CIA Manual of Tracking and Deception."

"The suspect believed he was being tracked as a result of that chip," Owen said.

Police also found Haloperidol, a drug prescribed for psychotic conditions, at the apartment.

On Monday, Fuad "Freddy" Sakhleh, a driver for Red Star Taxi, picked up Ibssa at Kingston Pointe Apartments, where Ibssa lived alone. Sakhleh said Ibssa "acted a little tense" and asked him to let him out at a medical office building next to the West Knoxville hospital where the doctor who performed the appendectomy had an office.

Owen said he went to the office but the doctor wasn't there. He returned to the cab but jumped out.

Owen said the victims were walking out of the hospital when Ibssa fired four shots at the women from the .357 Magnum, then pointed the seven-shot revolver to his head and fired a final shot. He fell to the pavement with the pistol underneath him.

Owen said the pistol had been reported stolen March 10 from a Knox County residence. KPD spokesman Darrell Debusk said investigators haven't determined how he obtained the weapon. In a search of Ibssa's apartment, police later found a .22-caliber Beretta handgun that had its serial number altered.

In addition to possible psychiatric problems, Ibssa was sued in January by a Knoxville man named Jalal Boudarga, who alleged that Ibssa injured him in an altercation. The complaint states that Ibssa blocked in Boudarga's vehicle, confronted him and knocked him against the vehicle. Boudarga claimed he suffered injuries as a result and was seeking $300,000 in damages.

Ibssa had not responded to the lawsuit at the time of his death. Boudarga couldn't be reached Tuesday for comment.

Ibssa's ex-wife, Firee Jawhal, filed a request in 4th Circuit Court in November to force Ibssa to pay child support for their 4-year-old son. She is also a native of Ethiopia and is a pharmacist living in Stone Mountain, Ga., records show. Jawhal alleged Ibssa hadn't seen his son in three years.
According to the case file, which lists his name as Abdo Ibssa Mohammed, Ibssa told the court he bought his business in 2008 but wasn't making any money. Handwritten notes indicate he was $80,000 in debt, apparently for an online school he dropped out of in 2007 "due to personal problems."
The notes also indicate he filed no tax returns in 2008 or 2009.

He had been in court for the child support matter on April 8 but the case was reset for Aug. 12.

(Scott Barker is a reporter for The Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee.)

Who is Abdo Ibssa?
Abdo Ibssa, the man accused of shooting the three women before taking his own life, would have turned 39 years old today. "The suspect, from a note left at his residence, indicated he was upset with the doctor, thinking a chip had been placed inside of him during his apendtecomy. The suspect believed he was being tracked due to that chip," says KPD Chief Sterling Owen. And according to KPD, he went gunning for the doctor Monday. Police found a fully-loaded .22-caliber handgun, computers, and a book titled "The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception".

Police say he operated Al's Market and Deli on University Avenue, where his name is on the beer license. One woman who shopped there is stunned. "Him? Oh God, I didn't know that," says Gail Almond. "He used to talk to young people out here. He used to talk with hope. He gave me hope because I'm a recovering addict." Now, Al's Market is closed, with patrons having no idea of Ibssa's mental state. According to police, Ibssa lived alone in his West Knoxville apartment, where neighbors say he never seemed disturbed. "This is surprising, like, he seemed to be pretty friendly with the other neighbors whenever I did see him around. He was talking pretty jovial, he'd wave at my mom-in-law every now and then. He had I had spoken, he was pretty cordial, nice enough guy," says neighbor Dylan Roberts.

Knoxville Police have now identified the shooter in an incident that killed a hospital worker and two others, and there are signs of psychological problems leading to the deadly incident.

Abdo Ibssa was apparently angry at a doctor at Parkwest who performed an appendectomy on him in 2001, because he believed the doctor had put a tracking chip inside him when performing the surgery.

Abdo Ibssa was a naturalized citizen as of 2006--his country of origin was Ethiopia.

Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said Ibssa had been experiencing psychological problems, and family members concerned for his well-being had gotten him committed to a mental health facility in February.

When searching his apartment, police found a package of an anti-psychotic drug prescribed for him.

They do not suspect at this time that he was taking his medication.

Police also found a note, detailing his belief about the doctor and the tracking chip, along with a cell phone, two laptops, a bag of marijuana, and a book entitled The CIA Manual of Tracking and Deception.

Cab driver shaken up

The man involved in that shooting almost left the scene before firing any shots.

Cab driver Freddy Sakhelh said the man got into the cab wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Sakhelh said he saw no sign of a weapon when Sakhelh got into the back of the van.

When they arrived at Parkwest, Sakhelh said the passenger went into the hospital, but returned to the cab twice.

The second time the passenger returned to the cab, Sakhelh had actually put the van into reverse and was preparing to leave.

But the passenger told him to wait.

The man then climbed out of the van, pulled a gun from his side, and started firing, Sakhelh said.

Police say that man shot three female employees of Parkwest, then turned the gun on himself.

4/20/10 8am Pacific Time NEXT DAY UPDATEQ. Why do we still not know the shooter's name? This is Red Flag.

Also, the taxi driver that took him to the hospital said, "I’m a cab driver — I can talk to anybody. He wouldn’t talk to me, tell me his name. He wasn’t friendly. He acted a little tense."

Q. How many folks give their name to a taxi driver? And how many taxi drivers ask the name of their customers? This is another Red Flag.

ORGINAL POST
10:45 p.m. Victims Names Released (source)
The names of the women in Monday's shooting have been released by their familes. WBIR is listing Nancy Chancellor and Ariane Reagan Guerin as the names of the two women wounded in the afternoon shooting at Parkwest Medical Center. The name of the third woman, killed in the afternoon shooting has been released as Rachel Wattenbarger.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A gunman took a taxi to a hospital Monday and then opened fire, killing a woman and injuring two others before committing suicide, police said.

All the victims were female and current or former employees of Parkwest Medical Center, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said. The attack happened about 4:30 p.m. outside the hospital's discharge area.

Police are still trying to determine a motive, but it did not appear that any of the victims were related to the suspect or that there was any connection between them, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. Police also didn't think the suspect was ever employed at the hospital.

The names of the victims and gunman weren't released by police because the families haven't yet been notified. Photographs showed a body surrounded by police at the entrance of the discharge area, where vehicles can pickup patients. Yellow crime tape was stretched around the area and police took photographs inside of a van taxi.

Two of the victims were taken to the trauma center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. A hospital spokesman declined to give their conditions, citing federal privacy laws.

Linda Cody, whose father was a patient at the hospital, said she had gone to smoke a cigarette when she saw a body face down, surrounded by blood, outside the discharge area of the hospital.

She said she didn't know if the man, who wasn't moving, was dead or alive, but she had learned the victims had been shot in the same area where she normally smoked.

Police work the scene where a gunman opened fire outside Parkwest Medical Center in Knoxville, Tenn., killing a woman and injuring two others before committing suicide, Monday, April 19, 2010. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

"It was scary," she said. "It kind of gives you the willies thinking that could have been me five seconds ago."

Cody overheard a woman tell police that a gun was underneath the man.

Police put the hospital on lockdown as SWAT team members searched each floor to make sure no one else involved with the attack had made it inside.

"The hospital is safe and is being reopened with limitations," Owen said.

Charles Billingsley was taking his sister to a nearby doctor's office and heard the shooting, though he wasn't close enough to see the attack.

"I heard five pistol shots, back to back, and then another and then another," Billingsley said. "I just saw people running from the hospital."

The owner of the cab company Red Star Taxi said one of his dispatchers told him that one of his cab drivers drove the gunman to the hospital. Yaqub Darboe said his driver was questioned by police.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A taxi driver who drove a gunman to a Tennessee hospital says the man pulled a gun from his waist and started shooting women outside the hospital, killing a woman before he committed suicide.

The cab driver says he called 911 to report the shooting rampage and then saw the gunman shoot himself to death in the head.

Two other women were injured and are hospitalized. The family of Ariane Reagan Guerin says they are hearing promising information about her prognosis. The family of the other victim, Nancy Chancellor, says she's doing well.

A gunman took a taxi to a hospital and gave the cab driver $20 to wait, then opened fire Monday in an area where patients are released, killing one woman before committing suicide.

All the victims were women and current or former employees of Parkwest Medical Center, Knoxville Police Chief Sterling Owen IV said. The attack happened about 4:30 p.m. outside the hospital's discharge area.

Police are still trying to determine a motive, but it did not appear that any of the victims were related to the suspect or that there was any connection between them, spokesman Darrell DeBusk said. Police also don't think the suspect was ever employed at the hospital.

Cab driver Freddys Sakhleh told The Associated Press that he picked up the suspect outside an apartment building and they made several stops on the way to the hospital, including to an ATM where the gunman got $20. The man said little about himself, only that he was from Atlanta.

Sakhleh said the man eventually got out of the cab at the hospital, handed the driver the $20 and told him to wait five minutes. He came back to the cab, pulled a gun from his waist and starting firing.

"I called 911, and I said, 'Please send some people here, this man is shooting like crazy,'" Sakhleh said. He said the gunman then shot himself in the head.

Sakhleh saw a woman bleeding. "I went berserk," he said.

Photographs of the discharge area, where vehicles can pick up patients, showed a man's body surrounded by police. Yellow crime tape was stretched around the area and police took photographs inside of the van taxi.

The two women who survived the shooting were taken to the trauma center at the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Their conditions were not released, but the women's families released statements expressing thanks for prayers and support.

The family of Ariane Reagan Guerin, 26-year-old employee at Parkwest, said they were hearing promising information about her prognosis. The family of Nancy Chancellor, 32, said she was doing well.

The women killed was Rachel Wattenbarger, 40. The gunman's name has not been released.

Linda Cody, whose father was a patient at the hospital, said she had gone to smoke a cigarette when she saw a man's body face down, surrounded by blood, outside the discharge area. She quickly learned the victims had been shot in the same area where she normally smoked.

"It was scary," she said. "It kind of gives you the willies thinking that could have been me five seconds ago."

Cody overheard a woman tell police that a gun was underneath the man.

Police put the hospital on lockdown as SWAT team members searched each floor to make sure no one else involved with the attack had made it inside.

"The hospital is safe and is being reopened with limitations," Owen said.

Charles Billingsley was taking his sister to a nearby doctor's office and heard the shooting, though he wasn't close enough to see the attack.

"I heard five pistol shots, back to back, and then another and then another," Billingsley said. "I just saw people running from the hospital."

Police have yet to offer a motive in a shooting at Parkwest Medical Center that left one woman dead and two others wounded before the gunman killed himself Monday afternoon.

Authorities have released few details in the shooting, which was reported just after 4:30 p.m. outside the patient discharge area of the West Knoxville hospital.

The two surviving victims were taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where their conditions were not yet determined.

Rachel Wattenbarger, 40, was killed, according to the Knoxville Police Department. The other two victims are identified as Ariane Guerin, 26, and Nancy Chancellor, 32.

Police declined to identify the gunman, pending notification of relatives. All three victims are current or former Parkwest employees, said Knoxville Police Chief Sterling P. Owen IV.

The gunman “does not appear to be (a Parkwest) employee, past or present,” Owen said.

Nor has the preliminary investigation uncovered any connection between any of the victims and the shooter, he added.

Through a spokesman with UT Medical Center, the families of the surviving victims released statements Monday night, both expressing thanks for the public’s prayers and support, and indicating that the women’s prognoses were promising.

Red Star Taxi driver Fuad “Freddy” Sakhleh said he was still shaking hours after he unknowingly drove the gunman to the hospital in his shuttle van, only to witness the sudden shooting.

“He jumped out of the van and went over to two women,” Sakhleh said. “He shot one and then shot the other. … I can’t get the scene out of my mind.”

Sakhleh said he picked up the man at Kingston Pointe Apartments, 6315 Kingston Pike, and initially drove him to a medical office building adjacent to Parkwest.

“The fare was $18,” he said. “He gave me a $20 and said, ‘Wait for me.’ ”

The man briefly went inside before he returned and asked to be taken to the emergency room nearby — the patient discharge area is at Parkwest’s former emergency room entrance.

The man asked the driver to keep the meter running again as he went inside, returning soon thereafter.

Just as Sakhleh began to ease his cab out of a parking space at the entrance, he said, the man suddenly jumped back out and headed for two women who appeared to be waiting for the bus, the driver said.

Sakhleh said he witnessed the suspect pull a handgun from his waistband, shoot one woman and then shoot the second as she attempted to flee. Sakhleh said he immediately dialed E-911 and did not witness the third victim get shot.

Sakhleh said he got a bad vibe from the man as soon as he picked him up.

“I’m a cab driver — I can talk to anybody,” he said. “He wouldn’t talk to me, tell me his name. He wasn’t friendly. He acted a little tense.”

Dozens of police converged on the scene within minutes of the shootings. The hospital was placed on lockdown while heavily armed city and county SWAT teams moved through the building floor by floor looking for any other potential suspects.

Meanwhile, the body of a man was lying on the sidewalk at the entrance to the patient discharge area as investigators combed the scene.

“We have cleared the hospital and there do not appear to be any other suspects out there,” Owen later said.

Kevin Kitts, a medical equipment technician with Fresenius Medical Care, said he was coming out of the patient discharge exit when a woman ran in saying there had been a shooting. He turned a corner to find the glass in the doorway shattered, and a man lying face-down in a pool of blood on the pavement outside. It was obvious, Kitts said, that the man had been shot in the head.

Kristen Letsinger and Rebecca Ferrar contributed to this report. Hayes Hickman may be reached at 865-342-6323.